Eugenia Gonzalez and Martin Henn met at a wedding. Martin had introduced the groom, a German man, to the bride, a Mexican woman. “Five years after that introduction, they were getting married, and we—a German man and Mexican woman—were meeting at their wedding,” says Eugenia. “Talk about paying it forward!” The two also chose Mexico as the location for their wedding. The ceremony took place before 200 guests at the oldest church in San Cristobal, and afterward, everyone celebrated until 4:00 a.m. at the Amber Museum.
Photo: Gulnara Samoilova and William Sanchez1/38Our wedding was a 10-day affair. Ten days! It sounds crazy, but since we knew that everyone would travel from so far away to get to Chiapas and that there are so many incredible things to see in the state, we decided to organize a full trip through the mountains and forest of San Cristobal de las Casas into the jungle to see the pyramids of Palenque, Bonampak, and Yaxchilan. One of the places we visited was Zinacantán, which is a primarily Mayan town that holds one of the most beautiful “union” ceremonies I have ever seen. Their weddings are not weddings as we know them, more like purification ceremonies to prepare you for your future. We chose to have this type of Mayan wedding on Thursday evening, before the main event.
Photo: Gulnara Samoilova and William Sanchez2/38Part of the process of preparing for this ceremony is having the women from Zinacantán prepare the bride and groom. Katy (top center) was my guide for everything surrounding the event. The bridal outfit consists of three layers of clothing—first an embroidered skirt, blouse, and belt. Then an embroidered cape, tied in the front and then twisted to the side. Finally, a white huipil (a sort of tunic that hits below the knee)—the most important piece. Every embroidery in this huipil means something about future life, partnership, nature, relationship to the earth, and of course marriage. My favorite were the hen feathers embroidered on the bottom, which are meant to represent a support system and help you fly into your new life.
Photo: Gulnara Samoilova and William Sanchez3/38Dressed and ready! My hair had two French braids with red ribbons embroidered throughout, and then a stark white veil on top. Katy and her team of embroiderers from Zinacantán made my wedding outfit in special colors. We had such an amazing experience planning this that receiving this incredible gift was truly meaningful.
Photo: Gulnara Samoilova and William Sanchez4/38Maix getting ready for the ceremony. He also had his team of helpers—I think his outfit was even more elaborate than mine! There were green velvet pants with gold sequins and a white shirt that somehow kept one arm tied to the body, leather sandals, a red turban, and to top it all off, a hat with ribbons dangling down.
Photo: Gulnara Samoilova and William Sanchez5/38We got dressed together with our Mayan bridal party, consisting of four godparents. One set of godparents were Laura Trevino and Jakob Von Eichel (the New York–based couple who introduced us) and the other was Maix’s brother, Andreas, and my childhood friend from growing up, Paloma Alvarez. The godparents all had their special outfits as well. Sharing those few hours with them was one of the best moments of the night.
Photo: Gulnara Samoilova and William Sanchez6/38This is the first time I saw Maix fully dressed. I guess at that moment the reality of what we were doing kicked in, and that we were a long way from our Bavarian civil wedding experience of dirndls and lederhosen! Here I am only wearing the bottom two layers of my dress, you can see my white huipil in the background being prepped.
Photo: Gulnara Samoilova and William Sanchez7/38Taking some pictures on the balcony before the ceremony began.
Photo: Gulnara Samoilova and William Sanchez8/38The place of the ceremony was in the magical garden of the Hotel Bo, which is so beautiful on its own that all we added were torches. San Cristobal has serious, don’t-mess-with-me rain much of the year, but on this night the sunset and subsequent moonlight were both incredible—as my friend Mariana pointed out—a wedding gift from the Mayan gods.
Photo: Gulnara Samoilova and William Sanchez9/38Walking down the aisle together, followed by our godparents. The ceremony is led by a woman and supported by three musicians. It consists of a very repetitive musical beat that plays throughout, many prayers that combine the Christian and Mayan faiths, a lot of incense, candles, juncia (a type of pine needle that is spread on the floor to make a base for the altar), and finally a shot of pox, a local Chiapanecan liquor. Chiapas is a religious hodgepodge, and it’s fascinating to see how the Mayans have incorporated Christianity into their lives, without compromising an ounce of their beliefs.
Photo: Gulnara Samoilova and William Sanchez10/38Britt White and Joseph Carrillo—my New York–based hair and makeup team came down to San Cristobal to help me get ready. While Britt is starting to do my hair I was sending voice notes back and forth to Maix who was getting dressed in his brother’s room. He was helping me practice my vows in German—standing at the altar was the first time I spoke German in my life, in front of many German speakers . . . imagine the pressure!!
Photo: Gulnara Samoilova and William Sanchez11/38These are the hands of my old friend Amanda Alvarez. She is holding the silver box with the arras. This is an old Mexican tradition and part of the wedding vows coupled with the exchanging of the rings and the lasso.
Photo: Gulnara Samoilova and William Sanchez12/38I decided to not carry a bouquet of flowers and instead carried a fan (on loan from one of my mother’s closest friends, and a second mother to me), and a rosary.
Photo: Gulnara Samoilova and William Sanchez13/38Juan Carlos was the only person with me while I was dressing. For whatever reason, everyone thought I wanted to be alone, and they all abandoned me!! But we had a blast in my room getting ready. JC had to sew me into the dress and then sew the veil on my head.
Photo: Gulnara Samoilova and William Sanchez14/38Ready to go! My only piece of jewelry was my mom’s earings.
Photo: Gulnara Samoilova and William Sanchez15/38Here I am leaving the hotel, on way to the church. Not yet as nervous as I should be.
Photo: Gulnara Samoilova and William Sanchez16/38There was a lot of traffic in town so we decided to get out of the car and walk the last few blocks past restaurants, tourists, and locals. People were cheering on the street and some were even yelling “suicidio!” joking that I was walking into my own death and that I should not enter the church. When we arrived, the first person I saw was my good friend Christian Langbein. He was the best person to see at that moment because he gave me a big hug and smile and made me realize this was it.
Photo: Gulnara Samoilova and William Sanchez17/38My favorite photo—the first time I saw my dad waiting for me outside the church. I started crying immediately, and all the nerves and emotion just came out. And all my sweet father did was blow into my face so I wouldn’t ruin my mascara!
Photo: Gulnara Samoilova and William Sanchez18/38This was the Chiapanecan musical group. They were incredible! Wildly festive, loud, and not something you usually hear in a Catholic church. My mother-in-law works in the music industry, and I wanted to find something that she could relate to in the ceremony, and this was it.
Photo: Gulnara Samoilova and William Sanchez19/38At the altar with the priest Eugenio and my cousin Polo who was the altar boy. The church is the oldest in San Cristobal de las Casas, and is a very simple wooden structure with nothing inside but an elaborate gold altar. It was very small, and I liked the feeling of having everyone in there together so close to us.
Photo: Gulnara Samoilova and William Sanchez20/38That was while I was saying my vows in German, I have no idea what was making us laugh so much at that moment!
Photo: Gulnara Samoilova and William Sanchez21/38Us two in a moment of privacy, wrapped in the lasso. The lasso matched the rosary I carried walking down the aisle.
Photo: Gulnara Samoilova and William Sanchez22/38Just married! I think any bride and groom will tell you this is one of the most exciting parts of the ceremony!
Photo: Gulnara Samoilova and William Sanchez23/38My mom surprised us, or more so her new German son-in-law, with a vintage Porsche Speedster that transported us to cocktails.
Photo: Gulnara Samoilova and William Sanchez24/38This moment was so fun—I had no idea this was happening and Maix and I were giggling throughout.
Photo: Gulnara Samoilova and William Sanchez25/38The street parade we all followed to the cocktail reception. They are a group from Chiapa de Corzo, famous for a festival where many men dress up as women to take part in the dancing. The dancers, with their music and colors, guided us through the colonial town over to the town square where we had cocktails.
Photo: Gulnara Samoilova and William Sanchez26/38As our friends moved into the town square for drinks and some mariachis, Maix and I took a private moment to take some pictures. We did not see each other before the wedding, and had only 15 minutes before the sun went down to take these shots!
Photo: Gulnara Samoilova and William Sanchez27/38San Cristobal de las Casas and its beautiful houses, in all their glory.
Photo: Gulnara Samoilova and William Sanchez28/38An impromptu photo session happened in the yellow kiosk. I love this picture because it shows both of our families, not everyone looking at the camera, but Maix and I could not care less . . .
Photo: Gulnara Samoilova and William Sanchez29/38Our decoration was focused on all things Chiapas. The clay doves are the most identifiable product from the region, and we chose to use them for flowers, ash trays, and candle holders. The round jícaras hold tostadas.
Photo: Gulnara Samoilova and William Sanchez30/38This was the rowdy table that pressured Maix to get up and give his speech so the dancing could begin!
Photo: Gulnara Samoilova and William Sanchez31/38Post-speech, our first dance. All our friends and family gathered around the dance floor and sang at the top of their lungs with us.
Photo: Gulnara Samoilova and William Sanchez32/38“Love Me Do” by the Beatles was the song I danced to with my father. He got so into it—it was miracle my hair survived!
Photo: Gulnara Samoilova and William Sanchez33/38Mexican paper lamps above the dance floor in the tent.
Photo: Gulnara Samoilova and William Sanchez34/38Cutting the cake. A big, ridiculous almond tart in the shape of a heart, covered with strawberries. Here I’ve changed into another JCO dress, and you can see my "something borrowed”—the Ana Khouri hand-bracelet on my right hand.
Photo: Gulnara Samoilova and William Sanchez35/38Mexican weddings can get quite rowdy—props were given out (hence all the straw hats), we had maracas on every seat, and cracked confetti-filled eggs on people’s heads on the dance floor. Here Chufy and I are having a major dance session!
Photo: Gulnara Samoilova and William Sanchez36/38Bethann Hardison, a person incredibly dear to my heart, was one of my favorite guests. She was so fun, lived every moment with us, and seriously bonded with Maix. Here they are in one of the multiple bonding moments on the dance floor.
Photo: Gulnara Samoilova and William Sanchez37/38Most of my original Bergdorf Goodman crew came down. Linda Fargo, Robert Burke, and Roopal Patel all made the trip. It was so fun to have them be a part of this moment since I have known them more than anyone in the fashion industry. Here Paula Mendoza and Linda having fun on the dance floor.
Photo: Gulnara Samoilova and William Sanchez38/38One of the final shots of the night, and one of my favorites—me and Maix having a romantic moment, while Maix’s sister, Tina, and childhood friend, Niki, have a major laugh behind us. It was a very happy night, filled with love, tequila, pox, and lots of dancing. We could not have asked for more.
Vogue.com contributor Alexandra Macon loves a wedding. After helping lead the launch of Vogue.com in 2010 as the site’s managing editor, she started Replica Handbag Store Weddings and Over The Moon—a curated online shopping destination and registry that carries over 400+ brands across the RTW, bridal, accessories, kitchenware, homeware, and children’s categories. ... Read More